Receptacle filler



Aug. 30, 1938. o. c. SCHMIDT.' l. RECEPTACLE FILLER Filed April 25',1936 z sant-'sneer' 1 /NVENT-o'e."

Aug. 30,1938. 4 o. c. scHM|DT- RECEPTACLEFILLER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledAp'ril 25, 1956 VEA/70,9.

Patented Aug. 30, 1938 f i. UNITED srares PATENT lorties RECEPTACLEFILLER Oscar C. Schmidt, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to The CincinnatiButchers Supply Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of OhioApplication April 25, 1936, Serial No. 76,440 11 Claims. (Cl. 226--93)My invention relates to receptacle fillers for with an exemplifyingsausage stung machine filling 'receptacles with plastic material, and isinstanced as employed in supplying the meat exemplified as employed inlling baking pans dough, partly broken` away. Y with meat dough,although itis obvious it may be Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same,partly broken l employed in other relations. away. Y i g Meat dough ofthis character is' a plastic rna- Fig. 3 is an end View of my improveddevice,

Vterial containing finely ground or chopped meat partly broken away.-and Various ingredients, and isa thick flowable Fig. 4 is a verticalsection of the same', taken mass somewhat similar to sausage meat whichis on the linedof Fig. 2, and partly broken islll'stuffed into sausagecasings for making sausages. away, and showing the relation of the partsin r'l0 1n the present instance the meat dough is fed fully actuatedpositions at the beginning of a into the pan for being baked to form ameat loaf. feeding movement. l Such meat dough has usually heretofore inthe Fig. 5 is a similar view, showing the relation of butchering artbeen placed in the pan by throwthe parts in retracted positions.

i ning a batch of the same forcefully into the pan in Fig. 6 is a bottomview of the plunger; and, "15 'an-attempt to simultaneously eject theair from Fig. '.1 is an axial section of the same, taken on the pan andfrom the mass of meat dough, it the line 'i-l of Fig. 6, and partlybroken away. being found in such practice, however, that air Myinvention is an improvement on the invenpockets form between the meatdough and the tion shown, described and claimed in the applicapan and inthe meat dough, and thatportions of tion of Georger Schlereth, forpatenton improve- 20 the meat dough fail to properly unite with each ment inReceptacle llers and method of lling other and with the bulk of thedough, and that receptacles, Serial No. '72,589,1'lled April 3, 1936,the-resultant baked loaf contains pockets of air, in the United StatesPatent Office.

y seams and fissures, and readily separable lumps, The receptacle intowhich it is desired to place making the loaf defective. p the materialis represented at li as a baking pan :,225 It is the object of myinvention to avoid these in which to bake meat loaves.` The plasticmaobjections and to provide novel means for filling terial whichV is tobe placed in the receptacle is the pan or receptacle in such manner thatair represented as meat dough, exemplified at l2. is ejected frombetween the material and the wall The material is arranged to be fedinto the reof the receptacle and from the material, and for ceptacle bymeans of a feeding part, shown aseo a feeding plunger I3, whichcomprises a feeding vchannel l, shown as a tube, provided with `afeeding passage l5 and a pressure piece i6 having a feeding passage l1rwhich registers with the feeding passage in. the tube. The pressurepiece '35 is yarranged to be moved into the receptacle so as toinitially discharge substantially at the bottom of the receptacle. Thetube is shown connected with the pressure piece by a threaded connectionI8.

The pressure piece has upward' extensions 2i at each of its ends, theupper ends of which are projected laterally outwardly, as at 22, beyondthe `upper margins of the receptacle, forming pressure arms providedwith handles 2S, by means of which x 45 the plunger may be raised andlowered and the device may beV moved into and out ef the receptaclesYsuitably placed at various points on a table fifi.

' The pressurepiece is shown of rectangular'form 'in cross section,corresponding to the rectangular 50 form of the pan, and is arranged tobe received causing the material to flow into the receptacle whilepressure is applied to the material in the receptacle in such manner asto vexclude and prevent the formation of air pockets `and bubbles beg5rtween the material'and the (wall of the receptacle and in the material.

My invention consists in novel means whereby to feed the material intothe receptacle and maintain pressure upon the'mass of the material in -f40 the receptacle as it is being fed into and accumulates in thereceptacle; further, in providing novel pressure means for the material;further, in providing novel supporting means for the same; further, inproviding novel means for manipulating the pressure piece and forautomatically controlling its position; further, in providing novelmeans for supportingl and relating the parts of the device to thereceptacle; and, further, in providing novel means for controlling thefeeding of the material into the receptacle.

The invention will be further readily understood from the followingdescription and claims, and from the drawings, in which latter:

Fig. l is a side elevation of my improved device, shown in a position ofuse and in connection in the pan so that the'. bottom of the pressurepiece is substantially at the bottom of the pan.

'There is preferably a slight space 25 between the lateral margins ofthe pressure piece and the upmachineis contained.- The meatdough isarranged to be .valve 51* therein.- shown and described, for instance,`in Letters Pat- Vent of the UnitedStates No. 2,004,618, granted on ,myapplication for improvement in Press head for Vstufling machines,andjdated June `11,4935.

.and upward pressure is being exerted 2li.' i l right walls of the panfor permitting air to escape from between the pressure piece and the panwhen the plunger is introduced into the receptacle and whilst theplastic material is being fed into the pan.

The tube forms a slide which extends upwardly from the pressure pieceand is reciprocable in a bearing .3.' .0f a .standard 32....i1liihhas.,laterally extending brackets 33 at its flower end having downwardextensions 34 at their outer ends provided with feet 35 at their lowerportions arranged walls of the receptacle. w"

The pressure piece is provided with a rcentral upwardiy extending bossnaar; whicntaetube has the threaded connection Il), .and with V upfwardly extending strengthening ribs 4,2 at'its respective side margins,the middle. portion `43fof the pressure piece being received in thedown; wardly presented cavity 44, formed in thestandard' bythe lateralbrackets-33,- the downward eX- tensions 34 andthe feet35, forming legsvstraddling the middle portion` of theV pressure piece when thepressure` piece is--in--retracted position.

The standard has a feeding cavity 41 having-an inner feed port '48-.-The-tubejhas a feeding port 49. .The feed port 48 is closed-bythe'tubewhen the plunger is in 11p-position. Y When'the operatorhasplaced the feet 35 onjthe upperopposite vedges of Y thereceptaclelandpresses "downwardly on the handles f23'to -move theY plunger tofthebottom of the receptacle, the infeed port-49 Acornes'into registry withthe'feedport-748, forming an automatic valve for permittingga iiow ofthe plastic material-from a suitable source into the pan.

Y This source isr'exemplied vas-a usualstuing '5|,in which the supply ofmeat dough forcedrthrougha'suitable valve 52, connecting with theinterior Yof the-stuiiing machine. This forcing of the meatdough'eis-obtained'by means of a suitable piston 53k forced upwardly inthe cylinder 54 bya suitable pressure fluid fed-into the Space55 under-the piston, andv supplied to said space through a suitable pipe 56having a suitable -Such a stuiiing machine-is -A flexible pipe 6| shownas a rubber-hose has one endjthereof secured to a usual nippleuSZ con-.nected with -the feed -valve 52 by asuitable cou- -pling 63. YThis `endof the hose is shown clamped to thenipple by a suitablel wirebinding-64.#The otherend of the hose -is'secured to an extension 65 ofthe-wall of the cavity 41, as by'being clamped thereto Yby a suitablewire binding S6.--

'Ihe upper` part ofthe tube l4may' be filled by a hard filling 61, thelower end of Which'slants downwardly oppositethe port 49, as'sho-wn at58, for directing-the plastic material` into the passagel. Y v

YThe meat dough-is-caused to'exude through the valve 52 `when thevalvesY 52 and 51l are opened by the piston `53, for causing the meatdough to pass through the nipple 62, theiiex-i-ble hose 6|, the cavityl41, the automatic valve ports 48, 49,-the vfeedY passage l5 in the tubev|4'and the feeding openings in the ment of the meat dough andintroduction thereof -Anto the"receptacle;V

.nating in discharge openings 11, 18; AA web19 is jalso-be-providedwitha Y line withthe -feedingpassagein the tube.v This ator nov/pressesdownwardly on the fior quickly moving the'plunger .intothe pan, so thatthe bottornoi the plunger is adjacent to the bottom of thepan,therebyopening the feedport c stuffing machine through theV cavity Yv.48,49, the tube The plunger is normally in retracted position, withthe upper end of the boss 4l bearing upon the lower end of the bearing3| as a stop, being urged thereto by a helical spring 69 which normallymoves the plunger upwardly. This spring surrounds an upper portion ofthe bearing 3l and the upper portion of the tube I4, which extends above.the bearing 3|- ,.An. adiustina nur 10 has threaded connection 1i withthe upper end of the tube. Itis provided witha shoulder 12 and a Mdownwardly extending flange 13 about the tube. to be supported by theupper edges 36 of the side The standard is provided with an annularshoulextension ofthe bearing, the

upper portion of the tube an'rdfthe f iang`e13 between the shoulders 12and 14, for normally urging the plunger upwardly,

the tension of the spring being adjustable by said The feeding passageI1 in the pressure piece has a number of feeding openings fordischarging the -plasticmaterial at diierent points and -in differentdirections at the lbottom of the Apressure piece. Thus the feedingpassage VI1 inthe pressure piece has lengthwise 'extending branchpassagesl 15, 16

projected in opposite directions therefrornftermithereby providedbetweenthefeeding passage in the-tubeand the bottom face ofthepressuregpiece.

plastic material are thus provided.- This web may discharge opening-8Din latter discharge opening lis of-less area thanv the .areasofthe*respectivefdischarge openings 11, 18

4throughout a-large portion of the area` of the pan and provides-forevendistribution of the meat kdough in the pan.v Y F40 f In operation, theoperatorgrasps-the device by Athe handles 23and placesthe samebupon apan tobe iled, resting the feet 35 `on opposite upper edges of the pan.It will -befassurnedv that Ypressure is being supplieduponthe supply ofmeat745 dough in `the stuing machine by Afluid pressure underthe piston53 -forurging the piston lupwardlyf in .A the cylinder. opened, there ispressure of thefplastic material .against ,thev tube, which in thisrelation obstructs 50 The valve 52 being the discharge port- 43 oftheYcavity 41'. yThe voperhandles-23 48 for passage ofthe plastic materialYfrom the" 41., the .ports 14 .and the various discharge passagesanddischarge openings or ports inthe pres- ,.surerpiece, for dischargingtheplastic materialF into-the bottom ofthe y Y The'operatorgmaintainssuiiicient downward pan.

pressurev upon. the plunger byA .bearing manually the plunger 'i betweenthe edge of the prevent the formation of air pockets and bubbles,

.and Vfurther to solidify the vplastic `material "and cause it tobe'formedasan integral body in the pan, the operato'rpermittin'g-th'eplunger to retreat-out' of the pan as the pan is beingfilled'with theplastic-'material under such pressure; the :16

operator-continuing bearing pressure upon the handles `2-3 Auntilytheipan Yhas been filled.

At the upper portion of rise of the plunger, the feed lport -48gradually closes,so that when the 5 lower face lof the pressure piecehas arrivedatthe `top of thepan, the feed port 48 will Lhave closed,

for'stopping the feeding of the material.

The operator may then scrape the pressure piece by lateral movementbetween the pan and the plunger. Thus the operator may wipe the bottomyof the plunger by scraping it Vupon 'the Ytop ledge'of the pan.

The operator may immediately 'place -the feet of the standard'upon theopposite top edges -of another pan and similarly fill -the same, the-filling of successive pans ybeing yaccomplished very `quickly vand inconvenient manner.- The meat 'dough spreads readily throughout `fthecross-sectional area of the pan to form Ya solid mass free of airpockets and bubbles. f

The flexible Aconnection or 'rubber 'hose is -of indefinite length sothat the device may be readily placed selectively on pans in Variousloca-tionson the table.

'25 It Awill `be understoodfthat theflex'ible connecvtion 6I and-thetube lfd are continuously filledwith thelplasti'c material after theyfilling operation has begun,` and continue to be so `filled throughout`the filling of vthevarious receptacles. Continuous r` pressure isexerted by thepiston 53 onthe supply of material inthe cylinder, and thevalve 52 remains open lthroughout the operation of 'filling the pansdesired.

The'supply Iof material 'is flowed =into the pans and the flow ofmaterialis'caused -tostop when the-pans are filled by the operation ofthe-automatic valve lcomprising the'tubean'd its feeding port t9-inconjunction with the walls of 'the cav- A`ity *41,forming the Aport 48,it being understood 4o thatthe tube andthe discharge passages therefromremain filled with the 4material to be fed, whether the automatic'Valve'be opened or closed, exuding pressure'being necessaryto dischargethe 'material through said passages.

My'improved device is simple in construction,

and vis easilyfoperated, land va great many receptacles may be evenlyfilled in rapid isuccession with little `exertion-and in such mannerthat `air pockets and bubbles of air between the -material `A"450-andthe wall of the receptacle and inthe material Aare avoided, and thereceptacles are solidly and .evenly vfilled in-an .extremely sanitarymanner.

I claim:

l. In receptacle filling means, the combination of a bearing, a feedingchannel provided with a feeding mouth outside said bearing, a feedingvalve between said bearing and said channel intermediate of the ends'thereof and operated by movement between said channel and said bearing,a bearing-down part to bear upon the receptacle having connection withsaid bearing, resilient means between said bearing and said channel torelatively vposition said bearing and said feeding channel to normallyclose said valve, and presser means having attachment under said bearingwith said feeding channel for movement between said channel and saidbearing for positioning said feeding mouth adjacent to the bottom of thereceptacle and for open relation of said valve and for resistingopposite movement between said feeding channel and said bearing toresist closing of said valve and to regulate pressure upon the materialbetween said feeding mouth and said bottom of the receptacle.

said bearing for positioning said feeding ymouth adjacentlto'thebottomof the receptacle andkfor 115 open relation of said valve andresisting movement'between'saidbearing and saidfeeding channel to'maintain open relation of said valve and thereby regulating thepressure upon the rmaterialbetween said feeding mouth and saidbottomv,520

of the receptacle.

3. In receptacle filling means for plastic materiaL-the'combination of astandard comprising an upright bearing and depending brackets at 4thelower vend thereof, a plunger comprising `a feed-1325 'ing channelreciprocable in said -bearing anda rpressure piece reciprocable betweensaid Vbrackets for coaction with the receptacle, a feed valve bel ltweensaid channel and saidIbearing, and `means between said bearing and saidchannel 'to nor-g3() mally close said valve.

4. In receptacle filling means `for plastic material, the combination ofa standard comprising anupright'bearing and depending brackets at the`lower end thereof forming a space Ybetween saidgg brackets, and aplunger comprising a feeding channel reciprocable insaid bearing andapressure piece provided with a 'feeding passage, the middle portion ofsaid pressure piece vmovable into -said space between said brackets andthe'end por-M0 'tions of said pressure piece havingupwardlyexltending'pressure arms having space therebetween in which saidbearing is received.

5. In receptacle filling means for plastic material, `the combination ofmeans acting to forcem feed'plastic material, a material resistant Apartsubstantially cross sectionally filling the receptacle being filled andarranged to act 'adjacent to the bottom of the receptacle at thebeginning vof the filling operation, means wherewith to exertqmoypressure on said material resistant part `toward the bottom ofthereceptacle, said material resistant part provided with a feeding 4mouthfor the plastic material of substantially less cross-sectional area thanthe cross-sectional area of said 55 material resistant part anddischarging between said material resistant part and the bottom of thereceptacle to cause separating movement between said part and thereceptacle by such pressure during the filling of the receptacle, andavalve 60 for the material whose operation is caused by such movement.

6. The combintion of a pressure piece for a receptacle filling devicehaving a feeding passage for the plastic material and laterallyextending 65v branch passages extending from said feeding passage formedby a web of said pressure piece opposite the end of said'feedingpassage, said branch Ypassages having discharge openings at the outermargins of said web, and said web provided with 70 aVV discharge openingof smaller area than the areas of said respective first-named dischargeopenings.

7. In a receptacle filling means for plastic mat terial, the combinationof a bearing part pro- 15 vided with depending legs for coaction withthe upper margin of a receptacle, a material resistant part having alower pressure face for the material located on a level between saidlegs when in unlling position and provided with a material passagehaving a discharge mouth adjacent the bottom of the receptacle when infilling position,

and a valve for the material having operativeV of said standard and saidfeeding part, said feeding part comprising a presser part having a fiatpresser face to press upon the material and having a cross-sectionalarea and form of substantially the cross-sectional area and form of thereceptacle being filled. by said plastic material, said feeding partprovided with a feeding mouth in said flat presser face of substantiallyless crosssectional area than the cross-sectional area of said presserface, said feeding mouth located between said presser face and thebottom of the receptacle during feeding, manual means on the lowerportion of said feeding part, and resilient means between said standardand said feeding part to normally place said feeding part ln retractedposition and to close said feed valve, said manual means by manualpressure thereon regulating said feed valve and the pressure of saidpresser face on the plastic material being fed substantially throughoutthe lling of said receptacle.

9. In receptacle filling means for plastic material, the combination ofa standard, a feeding part, a feed Valve between the respective ends ofthe same, said feeding part having a feeding mouth discharging materialunder pressure between said feeding part and the bottom of thereceptacle being lled, said feeding part being of such cross-sectionalform and size as to substantially cross-sectionally ll said receptaclewhereby inux of material under pressure between said feeding part andsaid bottom causes separation between said feeding part and said bottom,resilient means positioned to normally close said feed valve byseparation between said feeding part and said bottom, and manual meanshaving attachment with said feeding part to cause approach between saidfeeding part and said bottom counter to the normal action of saidresilient means for placing said feeding part in adjacency to saidbottom and thereby to open said feed valve for such discharge ofmaterial under pressure between said feeding part and said bottom andwhereby to resist said separation between said feeding part and saidbottom to fill the receptacle with continuous pressure on the materialsubstantially throughout said filling.

l0. In receptacle filling means, the combination of a standard, anupright feeding part having sliding movement thereon, a feed valvebetween said standard and said feeding part controlled by said slidingmovement, said feeding part having a lower projecting end with relationto said standard, a presser part for the material being fed into thereceptaclelocated on said lower projecting end and providedwith afeeding mouth for said material, and operating means for said feedingpart having connection under said standard with said lower projectingend wherewith to impart sliding movement to said feeding part and there-`by to exert pressure on said material by'said presser part and tocontrol said valve.

l1. In receptacle lling means for plastic material, the combination ofmeans acting to force feed plastic material into a cross-sectionallyrectangular receptacle having upwardly extending walls and a bottomtherebetween and an open upper end of substantially the cross-sectionalshape and area of the cross-sectional space between said upwardlyextending walls, a material resistant part substantiallycross-sectionally filling the receptacle and arranged to act adjacent tothe bottom of the receptacle at the beginning Aof the filling operation,means wherewith to press said material resistant part toward said bottomsubstantially throughout said lling, said material resistant partprovided with a flat material pressing face of substantially equalcross-sectional shape and area with said cross-sectional space and witha feeding mouth for the plastic material of substantially lesscross-sectional area than the cross-sectional area of said pressing faceand discharging between said material resistant part and bottom of thereceptacle to cause movement between said part and the receptacle by thepressure of said force-fed plastic material overbalancing said pressureof said material resistant part toward said bottom during the lling ofthe receptacle, and a valve for the material whose operation is causedby such movement.

OSCAR C. SCHMIDT.

